Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Stainless prices to slip further this year and recover early next

Stainless steel prices are likely to slip further over the next few months. More production cuts are also envisaged for the rest of 2008. However, a revival in price and supply are anticipated early next year. The recovery is forecast to be modest but none the less significant after recent traumas.

Poor demand across the globe is, currently, providing the backdrop for weak sentiment in the nickel and chromium markets. Stocks of the former metal on the LME remain at high levels. In fact, the price in week fourty this year fell to near $US8,800 per tonne – its lowest point for more than five years.